Chapter 72

“I actually like that we got to see the busy street together.”

 

I decided to look at it positively. I decided to attend the banquet to protect Evan from the “foxes” who were constantly looking for an opportunity to gobble him up. As it was a busy street, there were many young ladies, and Evan and I were attracting a lot of attention.

 

“Let’s go!”

 

I hummed a tune and tightly linked my arm through Evan’s, and they looked quite flustered seeing that Evan and I looked close. I glared at the young ladies who were gathered and whispering.

 

“Lep, let’s go there.”

 

“Huh? Okay.”

 

Evan’s brightly smiling, elated expression was truly bad for my heart. I was helplessly drawn in by the way his eyes curved, illuminating the surroundings as if radiating light. No wonder other people try to take him.

 

If a dress caught our eye through a glass window, we would enter the boutique and look through the catalogs. Evan was more cautious than usual since this was the official banquet we would attend together, and he couldn’t quite decide on a dress he liked.

 

To my eyes, the dresses seemed plenty beautiful and lovely, but Evan led me to another place, saying we should go somewhere else. At this point, I wondered if he was doing this on purpose, but he was seriously flipping through the catalog with a deeply serious face.

 

“Hmm… I don’t see a dress that can best highlight Lep’s charm.”

 

“Evan, your standards are too high. That dress just now was pretty.”

 

“No.”

 

He’s only decisive when it comes to things like this. Giving up on his stubbornness, I told him to do as he pleased and stopped interfering.

 

Was it because we walked too much? My ankles were starting to hurt. I looked around.

 

“Evan, let’s rest for a bit. That’s a famous dessert shop. I’ve always wanted to eat inside.”

 

I pointed to the dessert shop with my finger. It was actually a popular shop among young ladies in their teens. It was common for the desserts to be sold out if you arrived late. We had both been through a lot of emotional turmoil, so we needed something sweet.

 

I had bought and eaten their desserts before, but I had never had the leisure to look around inside the shop. The interior was decorated in a charming, feminine style, perfectly suited to the tastes of young ladies. It was somewhat filled with pink, but not to an extent that was harmful to the eyes.

 

“Evan, is it okay to eat here?”

 

“Do as you like.”

 

He nodded casually, even though the atmosphere of the shop would have been difficult for a man to enter.

 

Evan ordered black coffee, and I was contemplating what to eat, looking at the small cakes and macaron tarts displayed in the case.

 

“Oh my, isn’t that Lady Clies?”

 

“Yes?”

 

Who is it? When I turned around, a young lady I had never met stood there. But she was subtly directing hostility towards me.

 

There was no way I didn’t know the meaning of that sharp gaze. I blinked at the group of young ladies, and they scoffed at me. Being scoffed at right in front of my face, I couldn’t help but feel upset.

 

I straightened up from where I had been bending to look closely at the desserts and stared directly at them. However, responding to hostility with hostility was for amateurs. I smiled and asked them a question.

 

“Do you have some business with me?”

 

“Why would I have any business with Lady Clies?”

 

But you called me.

 

I stared blankly, wondering what kind of ridiculous nonsense this was. And soon I realized by their smirking attitude that they wanted to annoy me.

 

‘I was just trying to have a pleasant dessert with Evan…’

 

If I think about it, the young ladies’ attitude towards me is almost fixed. Some show interest, finding my actions unique, but others look at me disdainfully. The latter group is more numerous in terms of proportion.

 

Even during my academy days, I was told to my face that I was only good at managing money because I was from a merchant family. Many didn’t understand the trading company the Duke had given me. Anyway, this kind of person always exists.

 

But why are they doing this? The reason was more than obvious from their next words.

 

“It seems you found it very difficult to give up the title of Duchess Weiss.”

 

“…”

 

“All sorts of scandals circulated, and then news of the broken engagement spread, and now you’re clinging tightly to the Young Duke’s side.”

 

“Exactly. Does she really think she is suitable for the Dukedom? We know the excellence of the Grow Trading Company, but ultimately, that was an achievement made with the Duke’s help, wasn’t it?”

 

“Come to think of it, wasn’t she also in the newspaper with His Highness Bastian recently? Maybe she was caught weighing the Young Duke against His Highness?”

 

“Ah! Or perhaps the disgraced young lady pleaded with tears and barely managed to hold onto the fiancée position?”

 

“That’s possible too.”

 

They were deliberately trying to provoke me, perhaps hoping to damage my pride. And Bastian? Why is the Crown Prince suddenly being brought up?

 

I subtly glanced behind me. Evan had taken a seat at a table, as I had asked him to find one, and was drinking coffee. The place was crowded with people, and everyone was busy placing their orders, so they weren’t paying attention to our area.

 

However, if I kept standing there stiffly, they were bound to look our way.

 

‘Is this a good thing? It’s a great opportunity to get rid of the foxes clinging to Evan.’

 

I smiled brightly.

 

“Yes.”

 

“W-What did you say?”

 

“No, I mean everything you said is correct. Isn’t the important thing that Evan chose me in the end?”

 

I smiled coyly and curled the corner of my mouth mischievously. I probably looked like a wicked young lady with some hidden agenda. I chuckled inwardly.

 

“But who are you, Miss? You seem quite interested in Evan, but I don’t recall ever seeing you before. For a young lady who cares about Evan so much. Don’t you agree?”

 

“…!”

 

She couldn’t deny it, so she trembled her lips and blushed. As the psychological battle continued, the people around seemed to notice. A waiter behind me wrung their hands, wondering if they should intervene.

 

Just then, a hand gently rested on my shoulder. It was Evan.

 

“Lep, why is it taking you so long to choose a dessert? If you’re having trouble deciding, should we just buy one of everything?”

 

Evan spoke to me, seemingly oblivious to the stunned young ladies in front of me. I nestled into Evan while looking at the group of young ladies.

 

“L-Lep?”

 

Ignoring the surprised-looking Evan, I stuck out my tongue.

 

Get lost right now!

 

The young lady wanted to say something about my annoying behavior, but she bit her lip and trembled, perhaps wary of Evan.

 

‘She can’t say anything in front of Evan.’

 

I quickly turned my head away. However, Evan went a step further. He cupped my cheeks with both hands, lifted my face, and spoke with a worried expression.

 

“Why did you suddenly look upset?”

 

I pouted and spilled everything to Evan.

 

“Well, I was quietly choosing a dessert, and they suddenly started picking a fight with me.”

 

“W-We…!”

 

“They even said a scandal was circulating about me! Where do I have a scandal? They even said I was weighing you against His Highness!”

 

“…Bastian?”

 

Evan looked flustered, wondering why that name came up.

 

“Right? It’s absurd, isn’t it? They said that to me! I only look at Evan!”

 

I looked up at Evan, my eyes sparkling. He stroked my head and replied.

 

“Of course. Who doesn’t know that?”

 

I pointed at the group of young ladies with my finger. Then, the one who seemed to be the leader cautiously stepped forward. She politely greeted Evan. Her attitude was completely different from the provocation and scoffing she had shown me earlier.

 

“I-I am Melanie Rivadan, whom you saw at the last banquet.”

 

She spoke with a blush and a sweet smile, clearly wanting to show she felt affection for Evan. Of course, Evan looked completely uninterested.

 

“Ah. You’re that young lady.”

 

“You remember me?”

 

“Yes. Though I never thought you would speak to me again.”

 

“What? Evan, you know her?”

 

I thought she was particularly hostile toward me, but she had met Evan before?

 

When I squinted and looked at Evan, he seemed flustered and replied that they were not close. At that, the blush on Melanie’s face, which had been due to shyness, intensified with shame.

 

She glared at me with eyes that suggested I was her mortal enemy.

 

‘Hey, what did I do? Evan was the one who said he didn’t know you.’

 

“Y-Young Duke. Did you hear what Lady Clies just said? I understand there might have been some misunderstanding in our words. But Lady Clies clearly agreed with us! Didn’t she?”

 

Melanie made eye contact with her group for support, and the others chimed in.

 

“Y-Yes, that’s right.”

 

No, at this point, if she hit a wall like this, she should show some sign of backing off, but she was being obstinate. It was obvious to everyone that she was being rejected.

 

Evan spoke dismissively, showing his lack of interest. He kindly corrected her assumption.

 

“Lep is gentle, so she probably couldn’t humiliate the young ladies in a place where many people were watching. Even though it wasn’t true.”

 

“Young…”

 

“But I find listening to such stories extremely unpleasant. Especially Miss Rivadan, shouldn’t you know better?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Didn’t I tell you? That anyone approaching me is merely unpleasant, and that I am deeply in love with one person. You know who that person is without me having to say it. And one more thing. I was the one who clung to Lep. I’m quite embarrassed.”

 

“What…?”

 

“I couldn’t hold back my tears at the thought of Lep leaving.”

 

Evan blushed and deeply bowed his head. Even his reddened neck was visible.

 

Melanie’s lips were tightly sealed, and the onlookers were aghast. Evan’s appearance, like a fresh-faced boy in love, seemed to have been a greater shock.

 

“L-Lady Clies is only coveting the Young Duke’s status!”

 

“If Lep can’t let go of me just because of the Dukedom’s title that is attached to me, then isn’t that even more of an opportunity? Because she will never think of letting me go.”

 

“…”

 

As he looked at me with eyes dripping with love, I, in turn, couldn’t take it anymore and turned my head away.